ETHNONYMS: none
Spaniards are citizens of Spain (España), which occupies an area of 504,750 square kilometers and in 1990 had an estimated population of 39,623,000. The Castilian form of Spanish is the national language. Ninety percent of Spaniards are Roman Catholic. Although the regional cultures were unified in the fifteenth century, regional distinctions based on history, territorial ties, and language remain strong. The major regional cultures are the Andalusians, Basques, Castilians, Catalans, Galicians, and the Leonese. Smaller distinctive cultural groups include Gitanos, Rom, Sephardic Jews, and various cultural isolates who live by fanning and herding. These include the Agotes, Maragotes, Pasiegos, and Vaqueros de Alzada.
See Andalusians ; Balearics ; Basques ; Castillans ; Catalans (Països Catalans) ; Galicians ; Gitanos ; Leonese ; Pasiegos ; Sephardic Jews ; Spanish Rom
Kurian, George T. (1990). Encyclopedia of the First World. 2 vols. New York: Facts on File.
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations (1988). 7th ed. New York: Worldmark Press.